Several hundred demonstrated in Tel Aviv April 18 to protest the killing of a Palestinian activist in the West Bank town of Bil'in the previous day. The march, attended by Hadash MK Dov Khenin, culminated across from the Ministry of Defense offices, where protesters denounced both the IDF and the government. Participants carried signs bearing slogans such as "Uniformed Killers," "Arab Blood Isn't Second-Rate" and "Blood Government, Get Out of the Occupied Territories." Said a statement from the organizers: "The occupying forces have recently escalated their attacks on demonstrators protesting the separation fence." (Haartez, April 18)

Palestinian sources reported April 17 that a local protester was killed after being hit in the chest by a tear gas canister during a demonstration against the separation wall in the West Bank village of Bilin. Village resident Bassem Ibrahim Abu-Rahma, 30, was evacuated to a Ramallah hospital, where he died of his wounds. The army confirmed the report of his death, and IDF representatives met with Palestinian officials later in the day as part of a joint investigation into the incident. (YNet, April 17).

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled April 17 that former Israeli security chief Avraham Dichter cannot be sued in the US because he is immune under traditional common law. The decision affirms the ruling of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Dichter faced suit by survivors of a 2002 Israeli bombing, the target of which was alleged Hamas leader Saleh Mustafah Shehadeh. Shehadeh was killed along with his wife and nine children when a bomb detonated in a densely populated section of Gaza City. Human rights groups have widely called the attack a war crime. (Jurist, April 17)

Israel will not comply with a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) investigation into possible war crimes that were committed during recent fighting in the Gaza Strip, according to April 15 statements by Israeli government officials. The probe was originally approved by the UNHRC in January, which recently appointed South African judge Richard Goldstone to head the four member delegation in its fact-finding mission. An unidentified official said that a letter was sent to Goldstone last week, stating that Israel would not comply with the investigation because it doubted the mission's objectivity. Israel also argued that investigation did not focus enough on Hamas hostilities prior to the Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip. Hamas has said that it will cooperate with the investigation.

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu said March 26 he does not expect to come under pressure from the US over the over the policies of his right-wing government. "I think you are talking about something that I doubt existed for any length of time in the past and which I am convinced does not exist today," the Netanyahu told reporters in reply to a question about possible US pressure.

Israel unlawfully and extensively used white phosphorous munitions in their recent Gaza offensive, according to a report released March 25 by Human Rights Watch. The report says that while white phosphorous is allowed to be used to obscure ground operations in open areas and against military targets, international law prohibits air-bursting the shells over populated areas due to the risk it poses to civilians.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said March 19 that it will conduct an internal investigation into reports that Israeli soldiers committed war crimes against Palestinian civilians. The announcement follows soldiers' reports of civilian killings and vandalism under liberal rules of engagement during the recent Gaza Strip operation.

From Amnesty International, March 16:

A group of 16 of the world's leading war crimes investigators and judges—backed by Amnesty International—has urged the United Nations to launch a full inquiry into alleged gross violations of the laws of war committed by both sides during the recent conflict in Gaza and southern Israel.